Yarinaosu
by Demonized AO3
Summary: Just when all seems lost a second chance is offered.
1. Chapter 1

It's dark by the time Naruto comes to, a full moon overhead and bathing him in its silvery light. Everything hurts. His head. His body. His _heart_. Naruto hadn't wanted to fight Sasuke but there had been no other choice with Sasuke's declaration of his intention to execute the Gokage and the Bijū while they were still within the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It had also meant that Naruto was to be executed as well now that he had become the Jinchūriki for all of the Bijū, _out of necessity _as Sasuke had put it, and that alone hurts more than anything.

A shadow falls across Naruto and his gaze immediately goes to the figure looming over him, Sasuke himself looking completely unscathed by their battle and with his chokutō tightly grasped in his left hand. "It took you long enough," Sasuke comments almost offhandedly as he regards Naruto with a dark and sharp gaze.

Naruto tries to swallow past the lump that's suddenly lodged itself in his throat as he notices that there is blood dripping from the chokutō, blood that definitely doesn't belong to Naruto, but the feeling doesn't go away. "Wh-what did you do?" The question comes out in a harsh, stilted whisper while a pit of dread forms in Naruto's gut as Sasuke's expression becomes sinister.

"What I said I would do, dobe." Sasuke drops down into a crouch beside Naruto and holds the chokutō horizontally over him, his gaze going to the blood coated blade. "Now all that's left for me is to kill you to rid this world of the Bijūs' chakra."

Naruto doesn't respond, instead, he closes his eyes as he is overcome by sorrow, not for himself but for those he has failed to protect and for Sasuke. Especially for Sasuke, his best friend who is like a brother to him. Naruto desperately wishes that there is something he can do but it's too late. For their friends. For the Gokage. For the Bijū. For Sasuke.

"Pathetic," Sasuke bites out and Naruto snaps his eyes open to meet Sasuke's gaze, uncaring of the hot tears that blur his vision and streak into his hair. For a brief instant, Sasuke looks taken aback but then he hardens his expression and the signature twittering of the Chidori fills the air while it forms around his right hand.

"You're still my-" Naruto doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence, the realization of what he is going to say enough to make Sasuke plunge the Chidori straight through Naruto's sternum. The pain of it doesn't quite register but Naruto's vision immediately goes black and he has to wonder if this is what death is like.

It's particularly underwhelming, for one, and nothing like Naruto is expecting.

"It would seem that I was just in time, Uzumaki Naruto," comes the grave voice of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and just like that Naruto's vision clears and he finds himself back in his mindscape. Hagoromo stands before Naruto looking grim and worn, maybe even a little faded, and Naruto finds himself frowning.

"In time for what?" Naruto asks, knowing that he should rightfully be dead. That he isn't right now is nothing short of a miracle and Naruto is certain that he has Hagoromo to thank for that.

"Make no mistake, Uzumaki Naruto, you will die once I cease communicating with you. It is taking all that I have left to keep you here." Just as Naruto suspected, Hagoromo still has a trick or two up his sleeve and maybe, just maybe, something that can help. As if sensing Naruto's thoughts Hagoromo gives Naruto a wan smile and a slight dip of his head. "It would seem that I have no need to ask if you would like a second chance, Uzumaki Naruto."

"A second chance?" Naruto echoes, not quite sure what Hagoromo means by that.

"Yes. A _do-over_ for you and just one other of your choosing," Hagoromo explains as his form flickers briefly. "You both will retain your memories and with your memories the knowledge of everything you have learned."

Naruto's frown softens and he nods in understanding, his thoughts racing on who would be the best person to choose for this _do-over_ that Hagoromo is offering. While a multitude of his friends come to mind there is really only one other person who stands out. Someone who loves Konoha and her people as much as, if not more than, Naruto does.

"Have you made your choice, Uzumaki Naruto?" Hagoromo asks after a few beats of silence.

"Yeah," Naruto responds with a faint smile. "Uchiha Itachi."

Surprise briefly flickers across Hagoromo's face followed by understanding and a hint of amusement. "It shall be so, Uzumaki Naruto. Good luck to you both." With that Hagoromo winks out and Naruto is swallowed up by darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Something is wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

One moment Itachi is in the Pure Land and in the next moment he finds himself standing in the middle of his bedroom in the main house of the Uchiha District. Itachi can find no fault in his surroundings, not that a genjutsu would work on one who has the Sharingan or is dead, of which Itachi is both. This only leaves the possibility of a kinjutsu and yet… the chakra signatures he can sense around him, impossible as they are, rules out both the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei and the Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu.

On top of this impossibility is the fact that Itachi's bedroom is much larger than he remembers it to be or, rather, he is much smaller—smaller and younger—than he should be. Itachi quickly surmises that he is a child based on the current evidence—his height and the fact that he can sense the chakra of both his parents and Sasuke—but it shouldn't be possible.

None of this _is_ possible, not even with Jikūkan Ninjutsu, and yet Itachi's senses aren't lying to him. He is definitely in his bedroom, which by all rights should no longer exist. He is definitely sensing his parents' chakra alongside Sasuke's, when they should be dead. He is definitely _alive_, impossibly so, and…

Itachi frowns to himself, not wanting to consider that he may very well be in the past even though it seems to be the case, and silently pads over to the shōji. It slides open quietly and easily and Itachi peers out at the small courtyard lit up by moonlight. For a moment he stares at it in disbelief and then he realizes his initial assumption had been wrong. This isn't the house in the Uchiha District that he and his family had been forced to move into. It's the home they had lived in prior to the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha.

A cry pierces through the air while a feeling of dread curls in Itachi's gut. Itachi immediately recognizes the crying as Sasuke's and quickly realizes that this is the night the Kyūbi attacks Konoha under Madara's control. Real or not, Itachi moves towards his parents' bedroom to collect Sasuke. There's nothing Itachi can do at the moment to stave off Madara's attempt to destroy the village, not at five years old, but if he is truly in the past, no matter how impossible it seems, then he will do his damnedest to change what is to come.

Sasuke quiets the instant Itachi picks him up and though there's no time for it Itachi marvels at how small Sasuke is. So very small and innocent and vulnerable. "If this is real, little brother, then I promise that things will be different this time. I will be the big brother that I should have been to you."

A boom sounds in the distance and Itachi recognizes it for what it is, the Kyūbi being summoned into Konoha. He cradles Sasuke to his chest with one arm and grabs a blanket to fashion it into a sling for his infant brother. It takes just a few precious seconds to secure Sasuke and then Itachi is on the move, right as the Kyūbi roars.

Itachi starts to retrace the same path he took through the village before only to falter as a strange feeling overtakes him. He turns and looks towards the mountains where he knows the Kyūbi will be taken to by the Yondaime—where the Kyūbi will be sealed into Naruto. It's dangerous **and** stupid to go anywhere near there and yet the feeling persists no matter how Itachi tries to ignore it.

Itachi steels himself, cradling Sasuke a little more tightly to his chest, then takes off for the eventual site where the Kyūbi will be sealed. He constantly reminds himself of how dangerous and stupid a thing this is, especially with Sasuke in tow, while trying to not think about how their parents will react. Mother will undoubtedly be upset but father…

_I can't worry about father or the machinations of the Uchiha right now_, Itachi thinks to himself as he pauses on a branch to catch his bearings. The sky beyond the mountains lights up for a few seconds while a boom from the explosion of something—Kyūbi's Bijūdama, the first one—goes off. Itachi briefly recalls that the Yondaime had teleported the blast out of Konoha from one of the reports he had read on this incident after becoming an ANBU. He needs to hurry if he has any hope of reaching the site before the Yondaime teleports there with the Kyūbi to seal it.

Why this is so important is currently beyond Itachi but he's certain that he will understand once he gets there. There's only so much that he is capable of at five years old and attempting to control the Kyūbi like Madara is likely well beyond what he can do. It's not such a simple solution, especially when the Village Council will try to blame this attack on the Uchiha just like before.

_Danzō._ Itachi grits his teeth at the thought of the man, his Sharingan flaring to life, and pushes on. Maybe he _can_ control the Kyūbi long enough so that it can be sealed into Naruto without the Yondaime needing to sacrifice himself. Maybe Kushina can be saved. Maybe Naruto can have a chance to grow up as he should have before. It's the least that Naruto deserves.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurama pauses as the haze clouding his mind due to the influence of a Sharingan vanishes and looks around. It takes him a few seconds to realize where he is and barely even another to figure out that something is off. There are only four faces carved into the mountainside and the only time he has ever seen Konoha like _this_…

It shouldn't be possible—not by any means that Kurama is aware of—and yet he is most certainly in the past. He is most definitely in Konoha on the night that Naruto had been born—the night that Uchiha Obito had tried to capture him—but this particular moment on that night—on _this_ night—is a crucial one. A _deciding_ moment.

Whatever is going on—whatever has caused this—Kurama no longer wishes to destroy Konoha. No, what he wants is to return to his jinchūriki—to return to Uzumaki Naruto—but he doesn't know how possible it will be. There isn't anyone here willing to communicate with him—to even think positively of him—and yet he has to try. Even if it means letting Obito get away for now.

Kurama stands up slowly and carefully, doing his absolute best to avoid taking any more lives of the people that inhabit Konoha, unaware that many of the shinobi preparing to take him on have noticed the abrupt change in his behavior. It's a trifle harder to avoid damaging the buildings when some of the empty streets are narrower than others but Kurama manages to pick his way out of Konoha much to the confusion of the shinobi watching him. It helps that he isn't being attacked anymore, something that he only realizes once he's made it over the wall around Konoha.

Kurama glances back towards the village and finally notices that none of the shinobi seem to be pursuing him, not even the Sandaime. Well, they hadn't been up until now because he can see a few of them starting to give chase. He knows that their intention is to drive him even further away from Konoha, just like the last time, but Kurama isn't going to give them a chance to catch up and attack him. Even though their attacks might not harm him—not like the Shiki Fūjin the Yondaime had used on him the last time—Kurama doesn't fancy letting himself get attacked.

Speaking of the Yondaime…Kurama's senses prickle and he spies Gamabunta on the opposite side of Konoha with the Yondaime on his head. He knows what's going to come next, he's not exactly looking forward to it but at the very least he will be where he belongs. He doesn't think that there's anything he can do to prevent the use of the Shiki Fūjin, not when no one will even stop to-

"You didn't do this last time." Kurama's ears twitch and he turns his attention from the Yondaime and Gamabunta down to the stretch of forest just in front of him. Carefully perched on one of the higher branches of a tree barely even a hundred feet from Kurama, his Sharingan active and whirling, is a young Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi's mere presence is enough that Kurama falters, for a second, before what Itachi had said finally registers with him and he scrutinizes Itachi carefully. He can't help but notice the bundle that Itachi is holding close to his chest, an infant Sasuke, and for one second the urge to attack overwhelms him. He staves it off, if only because it is what Naruto would want him to do, and focuses solely on Itachi. "Neither did you, Uchiha," he rumbles out, his tails twitching.

For a fraction of a second Itachi looks surprised to receive a response him but he quickly schools his expression into one of perfect neutrality. Too perfect for his supposed age but based on his comment Kurama can only suspect, even dare to hope, that Itachi is experiencing something similar to his own situation. "You… you are the Kyūbi that was sealed into Naruto."

"Indeed I am," Kurama confirms then glances back towards Konoha to check on where the Yondaime is at. Gamabunta is gone, as is the Yondaime, meaning that time has run out for him—that he is seconds from being whisked away. "Get out of here before-"

"You do not need to worry about the Yondaime just yet, I have bought us some time with my Tsukuyomi." Kurama's ears twitch again slightly, this time because Itachi's voice sounds more like what he recollects from Naruto's interactions with him than the voice of the child he has run into. Sure enough Itachi looks like the one from before when Kurama turns his attention back to him, and even more curiously is that the infant Sasuke is nowhere to be seen. "Though I am not certain I can hold you in Tsukuyomi for very long."

Kurama is rendered speechless, having not sensed the moment the genjutsu had been placed on him, and lowers himself onto his haunches as he stares at Itachi. The shift was flawless, though he supposes that he might have missed it because he had been more concerned with the Yondaime than anything else at the time. Still, it is an impressive feat, especially with how young Itachi currently is, which with that in mind Kurama does his best to reign in his massive amount of chakra in hopes to make it easier for Itachi to maintain.

Itachi returns the stare, his expression nigh unreadable, then very subtly shifts his weight onto his heels. "You are very different from what I remember," he comments after a few beats of silence.

"That would be Naruto's doing," Kurama answers truthfully and his gaze moves past Itachi to the mountains on the horizon.

"And _this_ as well?" Itachi's question has Kurama returning his gaze to him, provoking the thought that Naruto might have something to do with their peculiar situation.

"Perhaps." The idea certainly has merit but the last Kurama recalls of Naruto… isn't any good. The desire to return to Naruto pulses through him again, stronger than before, and he shifts his weight on his forepaws restlessly while his gaze returns to the mountains. "I need to get back to him."


	4. Chapter 4

Itachi frowns at the desperation that colors the Kyūbi's voice and he can only wonder at what had happened to make the Bijū this way. Something terrible is his guess. "What all did I miss after I left Naruto and the Hachibi's Jinchūriki?"

The Kyūbi looks towards him once more, his ears folding back to flatten against his skull, and sighs. In a low voice the Kyūbi fills him in, telling him of the war, of Obito and Madara and Kaguya, of Hagoromo and finally of the end, of the fight between Naruto and Sasuke and…

Itachi doesn't doubt the truth of what he's being told but it's a hard thing to swallow. Sasuke had still chosen hatred in the end, had let the curse consume him, and Itachi feels responsible for it—all of it. He can't let things play out the same as they had done before, of this he is certain, and that's the plan, isn't it? This is why they are getting a second chance, so that they can make sure things go differently…for everyone.

"Our first obstacle will be to convince the Yondaime and my former host that I am willing to be sealed into Naruto," the Kyūbi states, as if sensing the direction Itachi's thoughts on their situation has taken. "My former host will try to force me to return to her in the hopes that I will die with her, a foolhardy endeavor as it would-"

"-simply allow you to reform after some time as you cannot truly be killed," Itachi finishes for the Kyūbi, his frown deepening as a thought suddenly occurs to him. "Isn't it dangerous to seal you into Naruto as you are?" Even reigned in the Kyūbi's chakra is immense and far too much for an infant to handle. Of course this would be why the Yondaime had used the Shiki Fūjin, meaning that Naruto will still be without a father.

"Not if I give up half of my chakra to my former host, which would heal her from the extraction," the Kyūbi answers nonchalantly, his ears raising slightly. "And allow for her to continue to act as my Jinchūriki until Naruto is old enough to handle all of my chakra."

It sounds too good to be true, the perfect solution to a fucked up situation, but Itachi is willing to give the Kyūbi a chance. He believes that the Kyūbi is truly changed and if he can convince the Yondaime and Kushina-san of it then there is hope. More than just hope. They can change what is to come. "We won't have much time once I drop Tsukuyomi. The Yondaime will be expecting a fight from you when he gets here."

"But he won't expect for you to be here," the Kyūbi points out, as if Itachi's mere presence will make all the difference. Maybe it will, along with the fact that Sasuke is with him, but there is still a chance that things could go wrong. He is, after all, still technically five years old right now. The Kyūbi barks out a laugh when Itachi points this out then gives a shake of his massive head. "And you have your Sharingan, earlier than before, yes?"

It's not just the Sharingan that he is in possession of, which should be obvious with his use of Tsukuyomi, but then he is certain that the Kyūbi means the Mangekyō Sharingan. "I do, and I had considered attempting to put you under my control with it should I have needed to but that is clearly unnecessary now," Itachi answers softly as he looks down.

"Not that I doubt your capabilities," the Kyūbi begins and waves a forepaw to indicate the Tsukuyomi, "but you barely have the reserves to pull this off as it is. Controlling me in such a manner, which I absolutely loathe by the way, requires even larger reserves or one of Madara's eyes."

Itachi looks back up at the Kyūbi, his brows furrowing slightly, then closes his eyes for a few seconds. The strain of using Tsukuyomi is starting to hit him, his left eye twinging with pain, and then the pain vanishes as an intense warmth surrounds him. He opens his eyes to see that the Kyūbi is reaching out towards him, the dense red chakra of the Bijū extending from it and flowing to him.

"This is only a temporary fix, I'm afraid," the Kyūbi states lowly and cuts off the flow of chakra after a few more seconds.

"I am well aware," Itachi responds quietly, pushing down his surprise at the Kyūbi's generosity. "I will need to refrain from using the Mangekyō as much as possible, at least until I can find someone to trade eyes with." Someone who isn't Sasuke this time around. Maybe Shisui, who already has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan by now. "And someone trustworthy enough to perform the surgery."

"You would need Tsunade for that," the Kyūbi rumbles out, his tails twitching slightly. "Good luck with that one" he adds gravely after a moment.

"I will worry about it when the time comes." For now they need to focus on the situation at hand—on convincing the Yondaime and Kushina-san that the Kyūbi wants to be sealed within Naruto. "I'm going to drop Tsukuyomi, are you ready?"

"Yes," the Kyūbi answers without hesitation and so Itachi releases the Tsukuyomi.


End file.
